High-profile switches expected in cabinet shuffle

PM issuing new to-do list for the fall that will
address vulnerabilities in handling of Afghan mission

BRIAN LAGHI , JANE TABER and CAMPBELL CLARK
AND DANIEL LEBLANC

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

August 14, 2007 at 2:00 AM EDT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister
Stephen Harper will refresh the top tier of his cabinet Tuesday
by moving some of his most high-profile cabinet ministers,
including an expected move of Foreign Affairs Minister Peter
MacKay to the sensitive Defence portfolio.

Maxime Bernier, a
rising Quebec presence in the government is expected to move to
Foreign Affairs, while sources said Indian Affairs Minister Jim
Prentice will head to Industry.

The Prime Minister is issuing a new to-do list for the fall,
handing out new mandate letters to each member of his cabinet.
The changes will address vulnerabilities in the handling of the
Afghanistan mission and emphasize economic productivity.Mr.
Harper met individually Monday and on the weekend with the
majority of his cabinet ministers at his official residence, 24
Sussex Dr., where he handed out the new assignments. He had also
been scheduled to meet with Mr. MacKay and Mr. Prentice on the
weekend.

Sources said the cabinet shuffle will be a substantial revamp
that is expected to include at least nine ministers. Mr.
Prentice, a trusted lieutenant to Mr. Harper, is expected to
become the Industry minister, taking the portfolio to be vacated
by Mr. Bernier.

Sources also said that Mr. Bernier and his staff have been
plumping for the Foreign Affairs job.

Mr. Bernier has earned
the trust of the Prime Minister as a skilled communicator,
acting as the main French-language spokesman when the government
released its budget. He also had a key role in outlining the new
softwood lumber agreement with the United States, and helped
launch new Conservative attack ads against the Liberals.

It was still unclear Monday night what Mr. Harper would do
with current Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, who has had a
difficult time in the portfolio. Insiders predicted Monday night
he will be moved.

Mr. MacKay would be a convenient fit in the role for a number
of reasons. He, too, is seen as a good communicator in a
portfolio where Mr. O'Connor has been accident-prone in handling
issues such as the alleged torture of Afghan detainees.

Mr. MacKay is also the minister for Atlantic Canada, home to
a large chunk of the Armed Forces. The region has become
difficult for the Tories in the wake of accusations that they
have broken their pledges for enriching the equalization system.

Some sources said Mr. Harper has left himself some room as
late as Tuesday morning to make adjustments to the revamp. The
swearing-in doesn't take place until late Tuesday afternoon.

Other ministers rumoured for transfer include Heritage's Bev
Oda and Josée Verner, the Minister for International
Co-operation. Sources said Ms. Verner is expected to take the
Heritage portfolio.

University of Calgary professor David Bercuson, the director
of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, said the
government needs to develop a clearer message for the Canadian
role in Afghanistan – and make sure the Prime Minister and all
his ministers are communicating aspects of the same theme.

He said there has been an appearance of government figures
heading in different directions, and that has to change. “You're
running a war here. People are being killed,” he said.

Mr. Bercuson said it now appears a new defence minister is
needed to communicate Canada's role in Afghanistan to the
public, and also to draw a clear line about civilian command,
because apparent divisions between Mr. O'Connor and the Chief of
Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier, may have blurred the lines
for the military.

The redesign of the cabinet team will be Mr. Harper's second
substantial cabinet shuffle this year in preparation for what
may be a longer tenure than many expected for his minority
government.

The makeover is intended to prepare the Conservative
government to take the political initiative after a spring
session on the defensive, and during which their electoral
platform appeared to lose steam.

Sources said the Prime Minister's Office will hand out new
so-called mandate letters that will outline a series of tasks
the ministers will be expected accomplish. The letters are
important because they indicate the government is looking toward
a Throne Speech in the fall sitting, where it will outline its
new priorities.

Typically, such letters are handed out at the beginning of a
government's term and before a Throne Speech.

But another expert said Mr. Harper doesn't need to make
wholesale changes, because to do so would signal to the public
that he is unhappy with the government's performance. The Prime
Minister has already shuffled his cabinet once.

“I'm not expecting big or dramatic moves,” said Roger Gibbins
of the Calgary-based Canada West Foundation.

Mr. Gibbins did say the Prime Minister needs an A-level
minister in the unpredictable Defence portfolio. He added that
the best way for the government to demonstrate a new agenda
would be in a set of new priorities in the fall.

Ottawa Mens Centre.com, from Ottawa, Canada wrote:
Mr. Harper's TO-DO List should include a legal presumption of equal
parenting after separation. Currently Canada has a negative population growth
which deters most men from having more than or two children and most importantly
prevents or deters men from having subsequent children in subsequent marriages.
A legal presumption of equal parenting will save Canada billions of dollars in
legal fees that could otherwise be spent on children's education rather than
funding lawyers retirement funds.

Number 2 on his To-Do list should be the introduction of property rights for
common-law spouses. The lack of such legislation encourages spousal abuse.

Number 3 on Mr. Harper's To-Do list is to bring in psychological screening
for judges. Currently the number one requirement to be a judge is political
connections and the ability to play survivor that generally attracts those
personalities who will abuse power once given absolute power for the agenda's
favoured by their political sponsors.

Number 4 on Mr. Harper's To-Do list is reform of the Federal Child Support
guidelines that at present have ZERO consideration towards the cost of parenting
by non-custodial parents who are treated like unwilling sperm donors. All too
frequently a custodial parent ears a higher net income while the non-custodial
parent has identical accommodation costs with a much lower net income. The
difference of incomes and the costs of parenting for non-custodial parents is
presently not considered. It actively deters and or economically prevents
non-custodial parents from remarrying. The effect is a slow destruction of
Canadian society caused primarily by a negative population growth that poses
more economic danger to the future of Canada than any other single cause.
http://www.OttawaMensCentre.com 613-797-3237